Chapter 10 - THE HOUSE BURNS
We returned home.
The house was already burning.
Flames climbed through the windows.
Perrin screamed.
“My room!”
I held him back.
Firefighters rushed past us.
Elise stood frozen.
Inside that house were six years of photographs.
My father's belongings.
Elise's wedding dress.
Perrin's childhood drawings.
Everything.
Then I noticed something strange.
The fire was concentrated around the library.
The hidden rooms.
Someone wanted to destroy evidence.
A firefighter pulled a metal box from the basement.
It belonged to my father.
Inside was a final letter.
I opened it with shaking hands.
“Evan,
If they ever come for you, remember this:
The company was never the inheritance.
The truth was.
Protect your son.
Protect Elise.
And never let them convince you that blood makes someone family.”
I cried for the first time since Elise disappeared.
My father had known.
He had tried to save us.
But he had waited too long.
Suddenly a police car screeched to a stop.
The detective stepped out.
“Where is your mother?”
I raised my gun.
“You tell me.”
He smiled.
“You're beginning to understand.”
Rhea stepped from behind him.
Perrin clutched Elise.
Rhea's eyes were cold.
“You should have taken the deal.”
I said:
“You should have stayed away from my son.”
She smiled.
“I didn't want your son.”
She pointed toward Elise.
“I wanted her.”
Then Richard appeared behind them.
And he wasn't alone.
Dozens of armed men surrounded the property.
May you like
We were trapped.
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